Greetings from dark and rainy Florida where I sit hunched over an old HP laptop. Purchased in late 2015, it too is considered vintage now and contains virtually no software, including Word which I bought with it but which the vendor apparently never installed.It will go with me to a well known big box store tomorrow to see what can be done to sustain its utility while I ponder whether to spend a hefty sum on another Apple product..
Apple stopped making parts for my original desktop about three years ago and will shortly cease servicing it altogether. According to their representatives, Apple does this with every product in its inventory. The goal here is to keep people spending, though they would not admit that.
I've had computers since 1989 when I was gifted an SE. That lasted until 1998 when I appropriated a custom-built PC originally purchased by my mother. This was subsequently replaced by a Dell which lasted seven years until getting my iIMac in 2011. Four computers in thirty years means they've lasted much longer than their respective manufacturers likely intended.
Unlike many, I am generally not an early adopter when it comes to new technology unless it serves a purpose. In my working life, I was surrounded by it and expected to be up to date so that I could best help students or their faculty.and since I wasn't footing the bill, that was fine. Prior to my adventures in library science, I utilized libraries as a busy freelance writer or editor, generally researching for a client.
At home, however, practicality reigns. My dollars expended must stretch since I am retired. Though bells and whistles figuratively appeal, they must match my usage and needs. I do not have a television, a sound system, a Smartphone, a car, a tablet or other techie items people seem to think everyone needs. My computer, a gifted Kindle and an old boom box are it. This is pretty pared down and likely to remain so. I read, stream movies and watch DVDs, listen to music, write and blog from a computer.
For the few days it took to get this dinosaur of a PC up and running, I was not bored, scared, lonely or freaked out. I did not die a sudden death without Facebook or Gmail The relative quiet was a wonderful antidote to our sped up existence and something current research says our brains need.
How much time do you spend off screen?
Cheers!
16 comments:
I am a slow adopter of new technology.
I don't play FB or twitter.
Or have a kindle. I have a smart phone because the hospital demanded that I be available 24/7 after my mother had a stroke. I have it, but don't use it much.
I spend quite a lot of time 'not connected' and relish it.
I rarely use my phone, have an ancient, very slow, iPad, an elderly desktop and several kindles, all ancient. Sooner or later one or more will stop working. I shall miss it (them) but may not replace the item.
I use digital media only for blogging and writing and checking the news. I spend a lot more time off than online. Reading books or going outdoors or seeing friends are my preferred entertainments.
I recently got a smart phone because I was tired of not being able to take advantage of many coupons and deals, and texting was the only way that workmen and others would communicate with me. I don't use it much, but have appreciated it this week when I have been able to communicate with my husband who is backpacking occasionally by texting when no other means of communication was available. Sometimes technology advances enough that it is hard to ignore it. But I too am on the slow to respond bandwagon.
I spend way too much time on-screen. And I know it.
If I had to, I could probably pare it all down to the phone although blogging from it isn't easy. My husband just had to buy a new laptop because he'd dropped his and the screen part separated from the base part and well, it was a mess. He's in the getting-it-all-set-up phase and he's not happy. But that's the way it is.
I'd say that you've had a very decent record of your computers lasting far longer than anyone would have thought. But now that you need a new one- because you are so dependent on yours for so many things, I would say get the one you want if you possibly can. I'm a die-hard Apple user and always have been. Have you checked into the refurbished ones? You can sometimes find very good ones on the Apple website. I think.
You were an early adopter indeed. I sometimes smile to think of the primitive state of technology in those days. It can be very nice to be without it.
My phone now estimates how much time i spend on it daily, and i am always shocked by the number. I have been contemplating a vacation from all screens, but yet not actually doing it.
Well a fair amount of time although obviously I'm online some with blogging (and Facebook). But I like to unplug as much as I can.
I spend more time than I should online. It's a form of reading for me, and I spend too much time on that, too (on books, I mean). Sometimes I think I'm making up for the many years while I was raising our kids and then visiting and otherwise helping my dad after his stroke, years that I had zero time to read. But the housework suffers!
Good. Your brain will be better for getting outside...
Friends and pets are better for us than being always on a screen.
I wish your husband a good adventure and you happiness off screen.
The refurbished were more expensive than a sale at another store...I did get another Apple but it is probably my last.
I agree!
Hard to do when you work but worth trying.
And you should!
Housework never ends!
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